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China Exchange 1999 - International Programs @ TCC
China
Trip Journal
Goodbye to Beijing
To me, there is a very definite element of sadness to the profession of teaching.
That sadness comes from building strong relationships and saying goodbye.
I feel this particularly strongly leaving BBI. The students and staff that
I have come to know here are among the kindest, gentlest, most generous people
that I have ever known.When I began teaching here I made arrangements to have
dinner with small groups of students from each class each week. Over my two
months at BBI I (and Deborah after she arrived) have dined and visited in
our apartment with each of my sixty some students. I feel like each one is
a friend.
My head is swimming with thoughts and feelings and images of China. I could
not possibly organize a journal entry that could give a sense of closure to
this experience. Rather than try I thought I would end on a lighter note.
I have included pictures of some of the dishes that were served at our departing
banquet. There is nothing quite like a Chinese banquet. Good conversation
laced with large quantities of laughter and food, lots of food. Food that
is a delight to look at as well as a joy to eat. One of the highlights of
this banquet was raw lobster served Japanese style.
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Deborah ate some of this dish before I could take the picture. Sometimes,
she is very difficult to travel with.
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We leave China tomorrow morning. We will spend ten days in Japan before returning
to the U.S. on the thirteenth. While the idea of this journal was to report
from China, I have a lot of material left. I plan to post more entries to
this page after I return.
ED GIBBS
egibbs@tcc.edu
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